


Not Alone Anymore

by mythomagicallydelicious



Series: Toe Bean Buds [1]
Category: Gravity Falls
Genre: (a cat), Gen, Little Bud, Stan references his drifter days
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-12-04
Updated: 2017-12-04
Packaged: 2019-02-10 08:09:44
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 599
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12907782
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/mythomagicallydelicious/pseuds/mythomagicallydelicious
Summary: Stan finds a little surprise outside early on in taking over the Shack.





	Not Alone Anymore

“Hey there little bud. Are you cold? Yeah, it’s a bit cold out, isn’t it? Wanna come inside? I got some, uh, well water, at least. Think the milk is bad. Yeah, that’s right, walk a bit closer, I ain’t gonna hurt you. Alrighty, there you are, come here.”

Stan, where he had been crouching down, holding out one hand to the animal on the porch, now picked it up. The kitten was not quite the length of his forearm, and skinnier than a rail. He had been crooning softly, in a low voice, and it mewed as it came closer. Now, safe in his arms, out of the snow drift it had waded through to get to him, Stan took it inside.

“Hey little bud, it’s alright. Let’s get you to the kitchen, see if we can’t warm you up, alright?” Stan carried the kitten to the table and set it down next to the paper towel roll, giving it a soft pat between the ears before turning and filling up a bowl of water for it.

“Here ya go, little bud. I know it’s hard out there, you don’t have to worry about the snow anymore though. I gotcha.”

Stan smiled as the kit lapped up his offering, and he set about the kitchen looking for something it could eat as well. Stan checked the labels of some cans in his pantry and laughed out loud. He turned back to the kitten that had settled on the table, paws under its body, as if waiting for him.

“Hey, little bud, you’ll never guess what I did!” Stan looked to the cat and grinned, as if waiting for an answer. The little guy gave a soft  _mew_  and Stan grinned just a bit wider, pleased at the audience response.

“Last time I went to the store, I got some tuna to spice up the ‘meat-from-a-can’ monotony, ya know? But I accidentally grabbed the cat food kind, not the human kind. I’m not sure how I missed it, but hey, looks like there’s somebody out there looking out for ya, to make me slip like that. What a treat, eh?”

Stan pulled a can opener out and spooned a bit of the tuna out onto another little plate for the little guy. The kitten leaned forward and lapped at it hungrily, the tuna disappearing almost quicker than Stan putting it down. When the kit finished, it sat back and licked its jowls and stretched, looking back up at Stan with wide eyes.

“Yeah, I’ve been there too, little bud. Looks like you haven’t been getting enough food.” Stan leaned forward and picked it up again, holding one hand under its body for support and a hand under its front legs and belly. In all honestly, he could hold the little guy in one hand, but holding it like this felt more protective. It felt right.

“But I can take care of you from now on, alright? I’ve got you, little bud. No need to be out there alone, anymore.” Stan walked into the other room to sit on the yellow chair. He settled down and let the kitten roam all over him. It seemed hesitant to leave the chair. It snuggled up finally, resting in the crook where his neck met his shoulders, just above his heart. Stan smiled and leaned his chin down to rub against the fur tickling his jaw. The cat mewled sleepily and Stan chuckled.

“I got ya, little bud. Not alone anymore.” And with that Stan fell asleep too, snuggled close to the kitten.

**Author's Note:**

> A world where everything is mostly the same, except Stan has a cat. This is a beautiful, magic cat. It stays with him for the whole thirty years, and longer. No typical house-cat lifespan. I can't put Stan through that sadness of making a feline friend and then it passing sometime while he's working on the portal. I can't do it to him.
> 
> If you check my tumblr under the tag #Little Bud, then you can find some fun bonus stuff about some of these stories. Thanks for reading!


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